Fly Intel: Top five weekend stock stories

Catch up on the weekend's top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. U.S. auto safety investigators have opened a new probe into 30 million vehicles built by nearly two dozen automakers with potentially defective Takata air bag inflators, Reuters' David Shepardson reported, citing a government document seen by the publication. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened an engineering analysis into an estimated 30 million U.S. vehicles from the 2001 through 2019 model years, the author noted, adding that automakers were alerted to the investigation, which is not yet public. The new investigation includes vehicles assembled by Honda Motor (HMC), Ford Motor (F), Toyota Motor (TM), General Motors (GM), Nissan (NSANY), Subaru (FUJHY), Tesla (TSLA), Ferrari NV (RACE), Mazda (MZDAY), Daimler AG (DDAIF), BMW (BMWYY), Chrysler (STLA), Porsche Cars (POAHY), Jaguar Land Rover (TTM) and others. 2. Investment firms Tiedemann Group and Alvarium Investments are close to a deal to merge and go public through a special-purpose acquisition company, The Wall Street Journal's Amrith Ramkumar reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The combined investment firm would be called Alvarium Tiedemann Holdings and be valued at roughly $1.4 billion in the deal with the SPAC Cartesian Growth Corp. (GLBL), the people said. The merger could be announced as soon as this week, the author noted. 3. In the earliest days of COVID-19 pandemic, investor and drug developers looked to antivirals to blunt the impact of the disease but didn't have much luck, with the only antiviral authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to date being Gilead's (GILD) Veklury, also known as remdesivir, Josh Nathan-Kazis wrote in this week's edition of Barron's. But the next generation of COVID-19 antivirals are now on the way, and a pill to treat - or even prevent - COVID-19 could be available by the end of the year. Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), and the biotech Atea Pharmaceuticals (AVIR) each expect late-stage data on an oral COVID-19 antiviral in the coming months. If the data are positive, the drugs provide a major opportunity for the companies-one that investors should not ignore, the author noted. 4. Disney's (DIS) "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" remained atop the box office charts in its third weekend, earning an estimated $21.7M from 4,070 theaters for a total North American ticket sales of $176.9M. The superhero movie sports an A Cinemascore and unlike fellow Marvel Studios pic "Black Widow," "Shang-Chi" has an exclusive 45-day theatrical release. 5. Apple (AAPL), Sanofi (SNY), BHP Group (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO), Anglo American (NGLOY), Glencore (GLNCY), Vale (VALE), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) saw positive mentions in this week's edition of Barron's, while Nike (NKE) was mentioned cautiously.